Deal reached on federal gov't funding
WASHINGTON, July 31 (UPI) -- A tentative deal to avoid a federal government shutdown was reached Tuesday, removing the funding as an election issue, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said.
The Nevada Democrat said he, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Democratic President Barack Obama had agreed on a measure that will keep federal agencies going until the end of March, Roll Call reported.
"This agreement reached between the Senate, the House and the White House provides stability for the coming months, when we will have to resolve critical issues that directly affect middle-class families," Reid said in a statement.
"I hope that we can face the challenges ahead in the same spirit of compromise."
Obama press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement issued by the White House the agreement was "a welcome development."
"The president has made clear that it is essential that the legislation to fund the government adheres to the funding levels agreed to by both parties last year, and not include ideological or extraneous policy riders," Carney said. "The president will work with leaders in both parties to sign a bill that accomplishes these goals."
Politico reported the lawmakers set spending at $1.047 trillion, the level set in the 2011 Budget Control Act. The Washington publication noted the amount is above the $1.028 trillion Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., had called for in his budget proposal.
Politico said sources expect final votes on the measure won't take place until September.
The New York Times described the tentative deal as a sharp contrast to previous episodes of brinkmanship that put the federal government on the verge of a shutdown. The agreement this time came well ahead of the Oct. 1 deadline for spending bills.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told the Times he likely will not support the measure but conceded avoiding a debate over the funding issue was "a good idea."
Sen. Thad Cochran, the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations panel, expressed the same sentiment to the Washington publication Roll Call.
"I think it's a good idea to pass an appropriations bill as soon as we can," the Mississippi Republican said. "The agencies and departments need to have something they can count on in term of budget numbers for the next fiscal year. So the sooner we do this, the better off we are going to be."
House OKs Camp Lejeune health bill
WASHINGTON, July 31 (UPI) -- The House Tuesday passed a bill that will help thousands of U.S. Marines and their families sickened by contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The measure, previously passed by the Senate, was approved on a voice vote after rules were suspended and will go to President Barack Obama for his signature, McClatchy Newspapers reported.
As many as a million people were exposed to drinking water tainted by trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, benzene and vinyl chloride at the Marine base near Jacksonville, N.C., the newspaper chain said.
There was no immediate response from Marine Corps officials regarding the congressional action, McClatchy said.
Military personnel and their family members who have one of the conditions listed in the bill will receive healthcare provided they'd lived or worked at least 30 days on the base from 1957 to 1987.
Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., one of the lawmakers who pushed for its passage, noted it "has been a long time coming."
"I'm kind of torn between thinking that it should not have been this hard and thinking it's remarkable that it's happened," Miller said. "I think the Marines and the Navy have not behaved well through all of this. Their reluctance to admit the water was contaminated, and the health effects of the contamination, has been shameful."
Alex Rindler, policy associate at the Environmental Working Group, which advocated for the bill, said it may help the families "finally start to heal from this tragedy."
"Today, we celebrate an America that came together to take care of its own, but we are also reminded of those still in need of treatment," Rindler said.
Passage of the bill had been pushed for years by retired Marine Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger, whose daughter Janey died of leukemia at age 9, and Mike Partain, son and grandson of Marine officers who was born at the base in 1968 and developed male breast cancer at age 39, the group said.
Their efforts inspired an Oscar-shortlisted documentary, "Semper Fi: Always Faithful."
"Well, I know she's watching," Ensminger said of his daughter. "And by God, she's made more of a change in this world through her death than most people make in their entire lives."
FHFA's Demarco opposes mortgage help
WASHINGTON, July 31 (UPI) -- The head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Tuesday he would not budge on his stance against principle reduction for troubled mortgages.
"After extensive analysis ... including the determination by the Treasury Department to begin using Troubled Asset Relief Program monies to make incentive payments to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, FHFA has concluded that the anticipated benefits do not outweigh the costs and risks" of participating in the Home Affordable Modification Program Principle Reduction Alternative, Acting Director Edward Demarco said.
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are, respectively, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. and the Federal National Mortgage Association.
The two government-sponsored banks were taken over by the government at the height of the financial crisis.
Since becoming acting director, Demarco has stonewalled the Obama administration on the HAMP PRA program, believing that using bailout funds to reduce principle on homes underwater -- homes worth less than what is owed on the mortgage -- would be harmful to taxpayers.
"Today, I provided a response to numerous congressional inquiries," Demarco said.
"Given our multiple responsibilities to conserve the assets of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, maximize assistance to homeowners to avoid foreclosures, and minimize the expense of such assistance to taxpayers, FHFA concluded that HAMP PRA did not clearly improve foreclosure avoidance while reducing costs to taxpayers relative to the approaches in place today," he said in a statement.
Panetta: Morsi is 'his own man'
CAIRO, July 31 (UPI) -- Newly elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi "is his own man" and is committed to democracy, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday in Cairo.
Morsi "is the president of all the Egyptian people and he is truly committed to implementing democratic reforms," Panetta said after their meeting at the presidential palace, the Defense Department reported. Egypt's defense minister, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, also attended the meeting.
Panetta said Morsi and Tantawi have a good relationship and share the same goals.
"I was pleased to hear Field Marshal Tantawi confirm his continuing commitment to transition to full civilian rule," Panetta said, adding the U.S.-Egypt defense relationship "has been an anchor of regional stability for more than 30 years, and a positive force during this transition."
"We have a history of working with the Egyptian military leadership. We will continue to provide the aid and assistance we can to help them in this effort," Panetta said. "Our goal, frankly, is an Egypt that can secure itself in the region."
Panetta then traveled to Israel, where he was scheduled to discuss the nuclear threat Iran poses to the region.
Israeli and U.S. leaders "continue to work together in the effort to ensure that Iran does not reach that point of developing a nuclear weapon," Panetta said in Cairo before leaving for Tel Aviv.
"What we are discussing is various contingencies and how we would respond. We don't talk about specific military plans. We continue to run a number of options in that area, but the discussions I will have in Israel [will be to determine] the threat we are confronting and to share both information and intelligence on it," he said.
